Open shuttle race of sewing machine



Feb. 10, 1970 KHILL HYUN KIM 3,494,313

OPEN SHUTTLE RACE OF SEWING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23. 1968 INVENTOR KHILL H. KIM

ATTORNEY United States Patent O Int. Cl. D05b 57/12 U.S. Cl. 112--232 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An open shuttle race for a sewing machine, especially for oscillating shuttles, in which the shuttle supplies the thread without severing the same and the shuttle race removes the thread dusts during the normal operation of the machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to an open shuttle race for sewing machines, in particular, a self cleaning shuttle race.

Description of prior art Shuttle races are well known in the sewing machine art as are oscillating shuttles, and it is the shuttle race in particular with which the present invention is primarily concerned. In prior sewing machines during their normal operation, lint, dust and other foreign matter tend to accumulate on the shuttle race, necessitating frequent cleaning operations. The accumulation of dust causes the shuttle to move away from its sliding range, the thread supply hole to be obstructed and possibly closed causing possible snapping of the thread being supplied. The present invention seeks to overcome these shortcomings with a selfcleaning open shuttle race.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an open shuttle race is provided with a shuttle hook and driver which are located on the inside of the shuttle race frame and which are so constructed and positioned that thread dust, lint and other foreign matter which piles up along the driver track are removed during normal operation of the machine by the right and left movements of the driver.

Further, this self-cleaning open shuttle race provides a smooth supply of thread from the upper spool.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a study of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the open shuttle race of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the open shuttle race in cross-section as it would appear in its operative position in a sewing machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an open shuttle drive mechanism 10, which is intended to be merely illustrative of the many oscillating shuttle drive mechanisms used in sewing machines. The drive mechanism 10 is provided with a shuttle race body 11, which is 3,494,313 Patented Feb. 10, 1970 adapted to receive a shuttle, not shown' The shuttle race body 11 includes a sliding support block 12 on the interior lower periphery of the race body 11. The sliding support block 12 is provided with a thread channel 13 and further is divided into sections, leaving spaces 14 between the individual block sections. A flank supporting ring 15 is attached to the shuttle race body 11 by means of a ring member 16 positioned about the shuttle race body 11 and in one of the spaces 14. The supporting ring 15 is formed to provide spaced supporting surfaces 17 which spaced surfaces 17 provide intermediate channeled areas 18. The channeled areas slant from the top of the interior of the surfaces 17 downwardly to the intermediate exterior surfaces of the ring.

The supporting ring 15 and sliding support block 12 have their respective support surfaces in sliding engagement when in their operative position as shown in FIG. 2, and by means of the right and left movement provided by the drive arm 19 cause the lint, dust and foreign matter to be moved to the corresponding spaces 14 and channel areas 18 and out of the shuttle race.

The arms 20 are provided to hold the supporting ring 15 in its operative position in the shuttle race body 11.

In operation, the supporting ring 15 is caused to be moved right and left in an oscillatory manner by driver arm 19 over the sliding supporting block 12. The motion at the interface of the ring 15 and block 12, or supporting surfaces 17 and divided block surfaces 12 causes lint and dust which has accumulated in this area to be carried to the spaced areas 14 and 18 and thereby to be removed by gravity from the shuttle race, while thread is freely supplied in the channel 13 from the upper and lower spools.

The foregoing is illustrative of a preferred form of the invention, and it will be understood that this preferred form may be modified and other forms provided, within the broad spirit of the invention and the broad scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sewing machine shuttle mechanism, comprising a shuttle race and a shuttle drive mechanism, said shuttle race comprising a shuttle race body having a plurality of spaced support blocks on its interior face and a corresponding support ring with spaced support surfaces, said support ring being positioned in said shuttle race with said support surfaces abutting said support blocks in end face relationship, so that by the action of said drive mechanism dust may be removed through the open areas between said abutting blocks and support surfaces.

2. A sewing machine shuttle mechanism as claimed in claim 1, said shuttle race body having a plurality of individual spaced supporting block sections on its interior surface providing open spaced areas between each individual block section, said supporting block sections having a channel in their interior periphery surfaces for the supply of thread, said supporting ring carried by said shuttle race body and held in position by means of arms carried by said shuttle race body, said supporting ring having intermediate spaced support surfaces and channel areas on one side, said one side abutting said support block when said supporting ring is in its operative position so that dust may be caused to be removed from said shuttle race through said open areas by means of the oscillatory action of said drive means.

(References on following page) References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 108,020 1/ 1900 Germany. 7 1393 Richards 542,466 1/1932 y- 2/ 1947 Haajs 1 12228 X 5 ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner 7/1958 Kunhara 112192 4/1965 Love 112 232 Hamlett 112 192 112192 

